When it comes to brokerage, I understand that an advisor needs to direct that brokerage to the benefit of the client when best execution is not obtained. However, the CFAI books do not clarify, and seem to even somewhat dodge, the question “If a client is getting best execution already, but the advisor is still receiving soft dollars, do the soft dollars need to be used in the best interest of that specific client? Or can they be used for the benefit of a different client?”
There is practice question at the end of Ethics (Question 14) that has raised this concern for me, and I haven’t been able to google anything that futher clarifies this. Thanks in advance for your help!
